wild card
by MedusaOfTheSpecies
Summary: 'Anyone who survived the third wave was like Ginny Weasley and Pansy Parkinson, a pretty picture of absolute brokenness.' :: GinnyPansy, Zombie Apocalypse!au :: For QLFC Semi Finals


**wild card**

The first time Ginny sees a zombie, her entire family dies in one sitting. Ron and Hermione are first: Hermione's convinced the zombies are a creation of Voldemort's that backfired—his magic too dark, intentions so evil it poisoned them. Hermione may be right, but the knowledge of what to do about it dies with her. It's oddly fitting.

Harry dies fighting and it's like all the light has gone from this world. He killed Voldemort and that wasn't enough for peace.

George, still mourning Fred while he died, wasn't enough for peace. Bill and Fleur dying slowly and painful from infections wasn't enough for peace. Andromeda and Teddy dying in Saint Mungo's wasn't enough. All the orphans weren't enough.

Ginny had held Luna as the infection drove her mad. She had killed her before it had turned her into a zombie too. Maybe that made her heartless, killing her best friend despite what would follow. Maybe it made her a murderer, but there were far worse things to be.

One of them being a survivor. Anyone who survived the first wave of zombies was lucky, even if they lived with that loss. Anyone who survived the second wave was a legend in their brokenness. Anyone who survived the third wave was like Ginny, hidden in a place that was warded to the max and with a rifle under their pillow.

Anyone who survived the third wave was like Ginny Weasley and Pansy Parkinson, a pretty picture of absolute brokenness.

…

Ginny woke up to silence. Grabbing her wand and rifle, Ginny crept it of bed. If it was zombies, no magic would help; they were completely resilient. If it was a person, magic would be the only thing that may save her.

"Weasley, what are you creeping around for?"

Ginny wiped around, her hair creating a cloud as she turned to face Pansy. "What is wrong with you, scaring me like that? The sun is up already and it's silent. I thought it was game over."

Pansy rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. Ginny got the message—she wouldn't be getting an apology anytime soon. "Well, sorry I'm late in waking you up, my husband shot our alarm clock."

Ginny resisted the urge to murder Pansy. They needed each other—everyone else was dead or on the run, Britain was empty, the world in ruin. Even if Pansy's words dripped of poison viciousness, they were the only remaining survivors living in Hogwarts.

"Breakfast time." Pansy turned around and walked down the staircase of the Gryffindor girls dormitory where they slept nowadays. "And bring that rifle with you. If your goal is to look more dangerous than you are, you're doing a fantastic job of it with those weapons."

"Oh, I promise, I am that dangerous," Ginny muttered darkly, but she held onto the handle of the rifle as Pansy squeezed her own wand and lead the way.

…

At the beginning, Ginny had tried to kill Pansy. Well, not quite.

The Muggle radio Ginny had salvaged when they had gone into a Muggle town was talking about how the zombies had made their way into France and Ginny had been angry, so angry it made her blood boil and rage burn, and Pansy had listened and let out a disgusted snort, and Ginny was turning around and she was yelling and throwing things and—

And then Pansy's lips were on her own.

…

The zombies had reached Canada in April and America in May. By June, the communication had completely cut off, and that's when Ginny had first learned how the only way to truly kill a zombie was the Muggle way. Hermione had theorized that Voldemort hadn't warded them against it. Perhaps she was right.

Still, even before that, there was nothing good to report. The panic had led to people refusing to leave their homes and a national famine. The zombies ate the brain of every human they made their conquests, and there was nothing glorious in that kind of death.

…

Wars led to insanity and Ginny knew that better than all others.

Before Pansy had shown up, shaking and refusing to offer any explanation other than, "there's more than one kind of family and I'm not infected," Ginny had been alone for one month, three weeks, and six days. With most people dead in the war and the beginning of the zombie uprise, Hogwarts has been abandoned and Pansy had been the girl who had tried to sell out Harry, once upon a long time ago.

It almost scares Ginny how little things like that meant in the big scheme of things.

…

Here's the secret: the world ended and Ginny still didn't miss Harry. She loved him before, perhaps, loved him so much she waited and prayed and fought for him, but then he went back. He defeated Voldemort and instead of finally having the future they were promised, Ginny lost everything.

Harry was the Choose One, a hero, a revolutionary, and the world ended anyways. How's that for irony?

That's the difference with her and Pansy. Pansy is all acid wit and selfishness. Pansy is all pink clothes and black souls, a chaotic mix of love and darkness.

Pansy says, "it's clear we deserve each other, then," when Ginny calls her a bitch, and she calls Ginny an 'expired fruit of the womb' when she complains, and says "if you think you have it tough, read history books," when Ginny falls too deep down the rabbit hole of mourning.

Perhaps it's not what she would have chosen as a child or teenager or as anything but the battle hardened veteran she is.

"I like the night," Pansy says, pulling Ginny out of her head with her words. "Without the dark, we'd never see the stars, and that'd be a fate worse than death."

Ginny stares up at the constellations. Harry taught her them while he was mourning Sirius. "Do you think she knew?"

"Who?" Pansy stares at Ginny, her face pulled into a confused frown.

"Andromeda. Do you think she knew how her story would start and how it would end?"

"You aren't Andromeda." Pansy leans in, glaring. "No one will never chain you again."

Ginny kisses her and the hopeful lie tastes sweet in her tongue.

…

Here's a story: there are murmurs of zombies being sighted in Britain again from the few people left. There are already sighting of zombies in the north.

Ginny does not pray. She loads her rifle, tries to teach Pansy to play Quidditch, fails miserably, and watches the stars.

There are wars you win and wars you cannot, but when you have your freedom, no matter how temporarily, you take it or leave it.

Ginny never intends of letting it out of her sight ever again.

...

 **Written for:**

Mythology - Demeter, Goddess of Agriculture: Write about someone with a floral name.

QLFC: Write about an pandemic.

365 Challenge: AU - Apocolypse!AU

Ultimate House Challenge: Title - Wild Card

Femslash February: GinnyPansy

Serpent Day: Egyptian asp - (dialogue) "Sorry I'm late, my husband shot our alarm clock."

Library Lovers: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer - (plot point) Starting over, (Dialogue) "I like the night. Without the dark, we'd never see the stars," (Word) Loss, (Word) legend, (Setting) School

Gobstones: Bronze Stone - Freedom, (word) Goal,(song) "Dream" by Imagine Dragons, (dialogue) "I promise."

Character Appreciation: Write about someone poor  
Disney Challenge: Aladdin - Write about a survivor.

OTP Challenge: Write about your OTP having a disagreement, (word) pretty

Book Club: Julie Lawry - (character) Pansy Parkinson, (word) poison, (action) making fun of someone, (object) rifle  
Showtime: Dancing Through Life - (dialogue) "It's clear we deserve each other."

Days of the month: Pink Day - Write about someone who likes pink

Count Your Buttons: "Does s/he know?", (word) fruit

Lyric Alley: Some can take it or leave it

Restriction of the month: Write a story without using any of the Hogwarts Houses, (location) Hogwarts

Television Show of the Month: Seeley Booth - (dialogue) "There's more than one kind of family.", (item) rifle, (action) playing a sport

Liza's Loves: Four Horsemen - write a story with the 4 words: (war) (famine) (death) and (conquest)  
Jenny's Jovial Quotations: "If you think you have it tough, read history books." - Bill Maher


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